Iga Swiatek held off a surging Ons Jabeur Saturday, downing the No. 5 seed 6-2, 7-6 (5) to claim her first career US Open championship.

The 21-year-old kept her cool in critical moments, remaining steady despite Jabeur’s improving form in the second set. The match came down to a tight second-set tiebreak, with Swiatek showcasing her mental toughness as she charged to victory in front of a boisterous Flushing Meadows crowd.

“I needed to stay composed and focus on the goals,” Swiatek said during the on-court trophy ceremony. “It’s New York. it’s so loud, it’s so crazy. It’s really mind-blowing for me. I’m really proud I could handle it mentally.”

Swiatek was dominant through the opening set, making 90 percent of first serves while dictating play behind a solid return game. As Jabeur found her way into the match, Swiatek’s performance dipped, but she remained calm, sticking with every point and hanging tough before gritting out a straight-set win.

Jabeur told reporters Swiatek simply knew how to play “better at the right moment, at the important points,” adding, “She knows exactly what to do. I feel like she improved a lot from last year until the beginning of this year again.”

The Polish star’s Us Open trophy joins her French Open title, making Swiatek the first player to win two Grand Slams in a single season since Angelique Kerber in 2016.

Known for her play-making ability on clay, Swiatek’s victory on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows indicates a new variety to her game. Swiatek joins Serena Williams and Justine Henin as just the third woman in the last 15 years to claim multiple majors on different surfaces in the same season.

With her US Open victory, Swiatek is the ninth player of the Open Era to win her third major before turning 22.

The 21-year-old has had a landmark year, highlighted by a historic 37-match win streak, a prolonged stint as the World No. 1, and now, a major win in New York.

“It’s something that I wasn’t expecting for sure. It’s also like a confirmation for me that sky is the limit,” Swiatek told reporters. “I’m proud, also surprised a little bit, just happy that I was able to do that.”

On Monday, Swiatek and Jabeur will be ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Iga Swiatek reached her second Grand Slam final of the year Thursday, as she rallied to take down No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the US Open semifinals.

While the 21-year-old never had made a US Open quarterfinal before this season, she is now the first world No. 1 to reach the final at Flushing Meadows since Serena Williams in 2014. That drought was tied for the longest of any major in the Open era.

“I felt a huge difference between the first set and the last two,” Swiatek said after her semifinal win. “I’m pretty happy that I got my level of energy up a little bit.

“Aryna made it difficult today, for sure. I felt like she was serving pretty solid. It was hard to come back in the third, but I’m pretty happy that I did.”

The world No. 1 fired off the last four games, and 16 of the last 20 points, to beat Sabalenka. Before that, the Belarusian had led by 2-0 and 4-2 in the third set.

“I just went all in, you know. This time it actually gave me a lot, and the balls that I played went in,” Swiatek said. “I’m pretty happy because I feel like we were both kind of sometimes risking, because the pace was really, really high.”

Sabalenka gave kudos to the Polish star after the match.

“She was just going for it,” said Sabalenka, the sixth-ranked player in the world. “She was hitting every ball and putting me under pressure and playing really aggressively.”

The match was Sabalenka’s third loss in a Grand Slam semifinal. The 24-year-old also lost in the semifinals of Wimbledon and the US Open in 2021.

In Saturday’s final, Swiatek will face off against Ons Jabeur.

Jabeur, the No. 5 seed, became the first African woman to reach a final at the US Open in the professional era with her 6-1, 6-3 win over Caroline Garcia. The 28-year-old from Tunisia will be appearing in her second-straight major final, after she also reached the final at Wimbledon.

“Feels more real, to be honest with you, just to be in the final again. At Wimbledon, I was kind of just living the dream, and I couldn’t believe it,” Jabeur said. “Now just, I hope, I’m getting used to it…Now maybe I know what to do.

“After Wimbledon, [there was] a lot of pressure on me and I’m really relieved that I can back up my results.”